Strictly Come Dancing’s Neil Jones to replace Gorka Marquez in new series

The Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers are set to switch places in the upcoming series.

Neil, who has just announced his split from wife and fellow dancer Katya Jones, has been taking part in Strictly since 2016.

But rather than being partnered with a female celebrity contestant and actually taking part in the competition, the 37-year-old acted as a reserve so that he could stand in for any of the professional dancers that may have to miss a show or two due to injury or illness or other extenuating circumstances.

He also headed onto the dance floor to participate in group dances with the whole troupe of professional dancers.

Credit: Getty

However, according to The Sun he is now set to join the main line-up of professional dancers, where he will be partnered up with one of the female competitors.

The dancer will reportedly be replacing long-time competitor Gorka Marquez.

According to the Sun’s source, the BBC show are replacing new dad Gorka as he doesn’t reach the required height to be able to compete with any of this year’s female celebrity competitors.

However, the 28-year-old will reportedly take on the previous role of dancer Neil, where he will act as a stand-in for any professional dancers who need to be absent.

Neil’s permanent place on the dance floor will mean that he and whoever he is partnered up with will be competing against his ex Katya Jones.

Credit: Getty

Just yesterday, the pair revealed that they would be splitting after 11 year together and six years of marriage.

Taking to their Instagram accounts to share the sad news with their fans, they wrote: ‘Hi everyone. As our fans and loyal supporters you are really important to us and so we wanted to let you know some news. After 11 years, we have made the mutual decision to separate.’

They added a reference to their Strictly roles, writing: ‘Our shared love of dance means we will keep working and dancing together as well as exploring individual projects. No matter what we do we will always support and respect each other.’